RAND: Russians Top U.S. in Paranormal Research (Updated)

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RAND: Russians Top U.S. in Paranormal Research (Updated)

Watch out, America: those damn Ruskies are kicking our butts in figuring out how to use the paranormal to win the Cold War.

That was the conclusion, at least, of a 1973 RAND Corporation study, put together "in response to request by the Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency." RAND reviewed all of the day's American and Soviet scientific literature into everything from telekinesis to yoga, and concluded:

(1) Soviet research is much more oriented toward biological and physical investigation of paranormal phenomena than is U.S. research, which is dominated by psychologists;

(2) although visible U.S. and Soviet level of effort appear roughly equal, over forty years of research in the United States have failed to significantly advance our understanding of paranormal phenomena;

(3) if paranormal phenomena exist, the thrust of Soviet research papers appears more likely to lead to explanation, control and application than is U.S. research;

So, c'mon eggheads! Get to it! We can't let the Reds open up a psychic gap!

After the jump: Some diagrams of where Soviet and American paranormal research went down, during the Cold War.

UPDATE: The CIA was peering deep into Soviet paranormal research, too. AT passes on this awesome 1972 report.